One Year Later
by Prestige Productions
Summary: After a year of being a student at Beacon, Bálor Moonlight reflects on the journey that brought him down from a cocky punk to someone who's just fed up with all of it. *ON INDEFINITE HIATUS*
1. Changes

_**Well, it's officially been a year since I began this whole fanfiction thing. I wish I could say that the journey has been fun, but to be honest there are plenty of days where I question why I even bother doing this.**_

 _ **RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth...yay.**_

Anniversary

It had been a long time since he had faced himself in a mirror, but looking at his reflection now brought back a very unpleasant memory for one Bálor Moonlight as sounds of a shattering mirror echoed throughout his mind before popping a little yellow pill in his mouth and taking a sip from a nearby glass of water. It had become something of a necessary evil in his life, especially since Ruby Rose had decided to confront him over the matter some time afterwards.

"So you finally decided to fix that wrecked mirror." Ruby would be standing in the doorway of his dorm, a cheery smile on her face as she had finished packing a box of things she had left behind during her move out of his dorm. "I was kind of worried that you were getting used to stepping around broken glass or something." The crimsonette would look around the dorm room with a twinge of nostalgia, they had spent many a night sitting on his bed debating weapon ideas, the meaning of life, the silliness of abridged series on DustTube, and one unfortunate incident in which a debate on which kind of cookie was superior above all others.

 _"Honestly, the very idea of ranking cookies is preposterous. Cookies in general are awesome!"_ Ruby would groan as she remembered the fallout of said argument, neither one of them had spoken to the other for a week and eventually Goodwitch had been called in to mediate.

"Honestly I've been meaning to deal with this for a while but then all that bullshit with the assassin happened, I ended up in the infirmary again, and then Goodwitch decided to give me a tongue bath-" The wolf Faunus would step back and wipe his brow before packing up his tool kit and carrying it out of the bathroom with him, giving the cookie-loving reaper a two-fingered salute with his free hand

Ruby would gag as she heard that last statement and shook her head in disgust. "Please, please tell me you're kidding about that. That's just a horrible mental image right there."

The silver-haired Huntsman-in-training would sigh as he set the toolbox down and turned to face his friend, at one time the two of them had been practically dating one another without much hesitance and were on the way to the beginnings of a happy and healthy relationship.

That was until Yang decided to save him from what would have been certain death, and after a small (for lack of a better term) pep talk from his cookie loving friend that he had ended up going steady with the brawler.

"Of course I'm kidding little Rose, unlike your sister who's recently taken to banning me from watching anything wrestling related while we're in the same room." He would go to his closet and pull off his sweat soaked Bullet Club shirt and quickly grabbing clothes to wear after he got out of the shower, unashamed of being topless around the younger woman after having spent a solid month living in the same dorm together.

"Thank God Port doesn't pay a lick of attention during his classes or I'd be screwed every time I wanted to watch a Jay Briscoe match on my scroll!" The wolf Faunus would quickly grab a towel and make for his shower, stopping when Ruby suddenly appeared in front of him with a cheeky smile with arms held out wide. "Really, you really wanna hug me when I'm all sweaty and gross?"

Ruby would think about this for a few seconds before frowning and lowering her arms dejectedly. "You've got a point there, but I'm not gonna wait here until you come out of the shower and hug you with just a towel on!" She would look down at her feet and sigh quietly. "You are dating my older sister after all, it wouldn't be right."

Bálor would smirk as he walked past her and into the washroom, looking back at her with a saucy wink as he moved to shut the door behind him. "Sounds to me like you were expecting more than a hug there my dear." With that final jest he would kick the door shut as the cookie-loving Huntress felt her face go red before letting out an exasperated wail of embarrassment.

"I didn't mean it like that!"

Back in the present, the wolf Faunus would be staring at his reflection with a pair of scissors in hand as he found himself reminiscing upon better days in his life.

"On the one hand, it was probably for the best that I just left it at a really sad and stupid joke." He would growl and begin cutting at random locks of his silver-hair, imagining how different things would be if he hadn't caved into his feelings and chosen one sister over the other. "I know that I made my decision to go with Yang, and I've gotta live with that choice even though she dumped me!" The wolf wouldn't stop hacking away until his silver-hair was now shorter and no longer touching his shoulders, having long luxurious locks was his ex-girlfriend's shtick after all.

"Although it could be worse, I could still be pining after Blake and chalking up lousy poems."

 _"Hey Bálor, it's Blake..I wanted to say thank you for sending me that poem, it was sweet but, I'm with Sun so..please try not to make it a habit."_

As he listened back to the feline's message for the third time that night, the wolf would feel further dejected as he sat in the middle of his demolished dorm room. His collection of wrestling paraphernalia lying either burned, in tatters, or some sick combination of the two.

"I suppose I gave it a shot, but I suppose that my stupid infatuation with this less-hostile version of Blake was a little weird for me to act on." He would stare at his scroll with a heavy sigh before setting down his scroll and beginning to shift around the debris with his telekinetic Semblance, he wasn't looking to fix anything that was broken and instead was moving things just enough that he could operate normally without having to go to Ozpin for a favor.

"Knowing my luck he'll just be itching to send me out on a mission if I decide to go into his office, and if I let slip that any of it was Yang's doing then Goodwitch will just try and mediate and have us talk through things." Bálor would sigh as he heard the clatter and crash of a photo hitting the ground, burying his head in his hands as he tried to collect his thoughts. Obviously this night would bring him no peace, instead he decided to curl up and let his body drift off to sleep in the hope that tomorrow would give him a fresher outlook on life.

But upon waking up the next day, the wolf Faunus would still be surrounded by the same debris of broken wood, shattered glass, and tattered clothes.

 _"Different day, same old shit."_

Finally deciding to get up off his feet and journey to his closet, he would find nothing wearable except the Academy uniform that had been given to him by Ozpin when he was first brought to the school. Back then the man had looked upon him in a fatherly way, not as a pawn in a chess game known only to the Headmaster himself. _"Back then I would've given anything to please Ozpin, no matter how dangerous the mission or how crazy the outcome might be. He's probably the closest thing I've ever had to a father after all."_

The amber-eyed Huntsman in training would sigh sadly as he pulled the uniform out of his closet and pulled off the protective covering, he really had no other choice but to finally wear the obnoxiously formal getup that he had leaped through hoops just to avoid doing so.

But like every son doing his best to forge his own path in life, the day eventually came where even he had to honor his father's wishes.

Blake couldn't believe what she was seeing as the door to Professor Oobleck's class opened: there he was standing in the middle of the classroom wearing the Academy uniform for what seemed to be the first time ever in his tenure, the normally rebellious fire in his eyes was muted as he made his way up to the highest seat there was and just plunking down without saying so much of a peep for the remainder of their class.

Even when Oobleck decided to change the subject to Faunus treatment while incarcerated, a hot button issue for the wolf for obvious reasons.

"Mister Moonlight, I'm quite surprised at your lack of engagement towards today's lectures." The caffeine-fueled professor would be darting around in his trademark characteristic bluster, the members of Team RWBY making their way downstairs as the older Huntsman began reading the normally pompous young man the riot act before leaving him with a fifteen-hundred word assignment on the pros and cons of Faunus imprisonment as punishment. Although as the feline watched the silver-haired student nod blankly before making his way toward the door, she suspected that all their Professor would be given was a hastily worded opinion piece penned by someone who had lived the experience in question.

The two of them would end up walking beside one another as they exited the class in relative silence, even as the other students around them voiced their elation at finally getting out of their last class for the day.

"Are you really okay with giving Oobleck a half-assed paper on something so personal, I know how you refuse to take anything seriously when it comes to the Faunus."

But the wolf would simply continue to walk alongside her for a little bit longer, knowing that he just needed to keep going before she eventually got fed up with trying to fight him. Only to stop as he noticed his now ex-girlfriend talking animatedly with one of the transfer students from Haven, Mercury Black who seemed genuine interested in how she was wearing the uniform than what she actually had to say.

"I could stand here and give you some sappy "You don't know a goddamn thing about me" speech Belladonna, but we both know that I showed my hand way back in the beginning of my time here so that would just be a waste of both our times." Bálor would lean against the wall of the highway tiredly, keeping his gaze upon the ceiling before he continued to talk. "I've told you about terrible times in my past, we've battled each other like feral dogs hungry for scraps, and after freeing you from a blasted parasite that had no business making its way into Vale I foolishly grew infatuated with the true Blake Belladonna who shook my hand before asking for my forgiveness."

He could feel the faint hint of a blush settling upon his cheeks before smashing his fist against the wall angrily, causing those students passing between the two Faunus to jump nervously before picking up their walking pace. "There's not much left for me to say to you Blakey: no more great revelations, no more messy poems. I've given you everything I possibly could without getting physically intimate with you, so let's just agree to play nice for the sake of both your team and the school because we both know that it's only a matter of time before I end up washing out of this place and ending up behind bars."

The wolf Faunus would hold out in his hand, silently offering the truce that Yang Xiao Long had at one time wished for.

Bálor would sigh as he stared down at the sink where a tube of hair dye and a case containing color-changing contacts rested, his hands trembling in defiance at what he had planned to do. On some level he knew that these cosmetic changes would do little to ease the dull ache in his heart, the people of Remnant would still hate him no matter how much he changed his outer appearance for his actions had branded him a menace and a terror to the status quo.

"Even if it's only for a day, please let me be someone different. Let me be someone brave enough to make the tough choices that lay ahead of me, and grant me the strength to move on from the heartbreak that torments me."

He hated having to watch the woman who once loved him now giving her attention to another man, he wanted nothing more then to tear out his knotted stomach and present it to her as a worthwhile sacrifice before finally collapsing into a lifeless heap at the brawler's feet. It was enough to make the wolf gently push away his food and excuse himself from the table he was now currently sharing with Weiss Schnee, accidentally causing it to bump into her own plate and send the apple she was currently eating tumbling to the ground.

"Watch what you're doing you oaf!" The heiress would sigh while cursing her partner's lateness, looking out at the sun drenched grounds outside the dining hall she would find Blake and Sun sitting under a tree with the feline resting her head comfortably in Sun's lap. "Must be nice, having someone you can just sit under a tree with and not saying a word. Enjoying each other's company and just letting all your worries melt away like wax from a burning candle."

Bálor would nod quietly, keeping his eyes on the tray for a little longer before holding out his hand just in time to intercept a fresh apple and beginning to polish it slowly and methodically. "I'm surprised you and that Neptune guy haven't had more quiet moments to yourself, especially since he seems to like bring up that you two are getting along so famously now." He would gently place the polished apple upon her plate and begin to stand up in preparation to empty his tray. He knew that she would make no attempt to thank him given the current circumstances surrounding their own relationship: In her jealousy over Ruby giving the newcomer, she had hired someone to have him taken out and would've succeeded were it not for the intervention of her teammates. Since that day, Bálor had been holding back one favor that the heiress must grant him regardless of no matter how demeaning or stupid it would turn out to be. But the more time that the wolf had passed with him keeping his metaphorical guillotine hanging over her head left him with more opportunities to see past her haughty veneer, to a young woman who seemed as deadset as he was to ignore a parent's wishes and blaze her own trail without the artificial prop up that came with the Schnee family name and he had come to admire it.

"I know you may not want to hear this right now princess, but in all honesty I really wouldn't mind sitting under a tree with you someday." The wolf Faunus would ignore the dumbfounded look upon the heiress's face, her fork and knife lodged in the apple she had been preparing to eat. "What, I'm just speaking honestly here. I feel like I really have some kind of a connection with you-"

Weiss would slam her hands down on the table while baring her teeth like an irritated lioness, her blue eyes glaring deep into his amber ones and threatening to freeze him solid right where he stood. "Don't you **DARE** begin to even hint at the two of us having any kind of connection, you're nothing but some rabid dog who was lucky enough to receive the table scraps Ozpin gave to you upon coming here!" She would continue to step toward him while baring the same furious glare, even as the once-pompous wolf Faunus began taking a step back in hesitation at her anger. "Everyone here has spent _years_ busting their asses just to make it to Beacon, even Ruby who was skipped ahead by two years has put all her heart into proving that she belongs here with the rest of us! What the LIVING FUCK have you done to show that you deserve to even call yourself a human being, much less a student at our school?!"

The wolf Faunus would suddenly feel himself trip and fall as he looked up to see the laughing, gleeful face of one Cardin Winchester staring down back at him as Weiss stood over him with a cold, unfeeling look in her eyes. "You've done NOTHING! You are NOTHING! It's as if your parents procreated in order to produce something that would GUARANTEE that your only purpose in life is to be annoying little hemorrhoid on the perfect ass that is Remnant, and like any good ailment on the ass we'll do whatever it takes just to excise you and sit down properly!" Weiss would be seething visibly by the time she finished her rant, sweat dripping from her pale hair as she tried to compose herself and get back to eating her meal in peace.

"And before you decide to go running to Ruby for some undeserved comfort, just know that even a kind soul like hers only has so much patience for your bitching."

Bálor would try and swallow the humiliation that she had now given him, only to find that his mouth had gone dry in the face of her fury and stumbling his way out of the dining hall with the laughter of other students trailing behind him.

"She was absolutely right, I really don't belong here at this school." The wolf Faunus would feel his hand quake as he desperately tried to insert his eye color changing contacts, gritting his teeth and forcing them inside with his Semblance before crumbling to his knees from exhaustion and nearly smashing his chin against the sink. "But I can't leave, not until I see Team RWBY finally obtain victory in this stupid tournament." Bálor would carefully make his way outside to find the letter he had written to Weiss some time ago waiting by his monitor, trying his best to keep his hands calm despite the anxiety he was now feeling due to that final flashback.

"I think it's about time that I finally cashed in on her side of the bargain, she'll get what she wants when I leave Beacon. But I'll be damned if I don't get something out of it!"

 _ **Honestly this fic was supposed to mirror the journey of Bálor going from wrestling goofball towards the type of individual who you would hire if you wanted someone taken down and didn't care what the hell it took to do so.**_

 _ **But the more I continued to write this mad little ficlet, the more it tended to read like my year in fanfiction.**_

 _ **Ruby: Fun, happy, I can do anything so let's plan something saucy down the road**_

 _ **Blake: Umm okay, so I stepped on a few toes. Better play it a little safer. Truce?**_

 _ **Weiss: I get it! You don't like what I do to your precious series! But dammit if I'm getting kicked out, I might as well give you a very good reason to earn Das Boot**_

 _ **I didn't give Yang her own segment because let's face it, 90% of my fics reflect the dynamic between her and Balor. It's literally a guide on how to create and then promptly sink your own ship!**_

 _ **I'm not a dummy, it's just a fact of life.**_


	2. HeadShrunk

_**Still trying to keep my faith in RWBY**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Rooster Teeth owns RWBY guys**_

It was one of the more horrible days of his life and something that the wolf didn't like reliving, whether in the confines of his own mind while he had been altering his appearance or laying on a couch in Ozpin's office as he currently was.

"It's not to say that she wasn't right about everything ya know, Weiss and the others busted their tails getting into Beacon..I just sort of got tossed in here like a louse hitting the drunk tank to dry out, people like me shouldn't be here-" Bálor would flinch as he cut himself off mid-sentence as he felt the laser-like glare of his therapist glaring down upon him. "I know, I know I'm not supposed to say that word while we're in session doc but maybe the ice queen has a point on this one?" His query would be rewarded with an audible noise of disdain from his appointed psychologist (Mostly because Ozpin and Glynda were busy handling things concerning the Vytal Festival.) and had laid down a strict set of rules involved during their time together.

"Bálor if I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times: The word "should" is often associated with a person putting themselves to shame, and that's the opposite of where I would like these sessions to go." The thin-haired man would jot something down on his notepad while monitoring the boy's reactions, taking mote of his balled fists and gritted teeth. "If Miss Schnee's words upset you this much then I suggest you do something about of it, in the meantime..I trust you've been keeping up with taking your medication?"

The now sea-green eyed wolf Faunus would groan audibly before nodding in the affirmative, even since this new doctor had been brought in to council the troubled Huntsman he had decided to take him off of the anti-psychotic meds that Black Vale's prison doctors had prescribed for him and instead put him on anti-anxiety meds instead.

"That's very good to hear, Professor Ozpin seemed quite concerned about your hesitation to take your previous medication. So now you simply need to get more confidence in both yourself and your actions, surely there must be someway you can go about doing this?"

This would bring a moment of clarity to the silver-haired youth, sure there were plenty of things he had yet to do at Beacon Academy: Go a single lunch period without eating anything remotely resembling a sub sandwich, get through one of Oobleck's lectures without suffering some kind of whiplash in his neck, and (since Yang was now solely focused on the Vytal Festival) maybe finally confess some long repressed feelings geared towards a certain someone. "Yeah, I have a few things in mind Doc." Bálor could feel his fists relax as he remembered that he still had an ace in the hole when it came to the heiress's further outbursts against him, but the real question was just how he would go about using this trump card of his. "But I'm going to need to prepare myself in order to brave these upcoming..ideas." He would sit up from the couch and look down at his scroll, grimacing at the time displayed before him and dreading the fact that he would have to brave the insanity that was a lecture from Bartholomew Oobleck.

"Definitely not looking forward to this."

Weiss Schnee was feeling pretty good about herself, she had finally scared the wolf Faunus away from Team RWBY's doorstep and her Team was one of the heavy favorites to make their way past the Doubles round of the Vytal Festival thanks to a pretty flawless victory over Team ABRN of Shade. "It doesn't matter who we end up facing in the Doubles round, with my flawless fighting technique and Yang's heavy hitting prowess there's hardly a team that could stand against the two of us." The heiress added a bit of a sashay to her step as she turned the corner leading to RWBY dorm, causing a couple of male students to bump into one another due to staring. "I can hardly think of anything that could possibly ruin such an amazing day." The heiress would stop in front of her team's door and open the lock, opening up the door to see an envelope hanging in front of her face and nearly dismissing it as another cheesy love letter from Jaune but upon closer inspection she would notice the annoyingly familiar symbol of a wolf howling at Remnant's broken moon that caused her blood to run as cold as her namesake. "No no no no NO NONONONO!" Weiss recognized that emblem as belonging to the very man she had verbally eviscerated days ago, the last she had seen of the wolf was him running away from her like a damn coward. And yet, there it was: the symbol of her forced servitude. The pale-haired Huntress would shiver as she mentally ran through the list of humiliating acts he could render upon her as she had pretty much beaten him down during their encounter in the dining hall, and if there was one thing Weiss Schnee would never allow to have happen again it was standing before her silver-haired tormentor and feeling like a scolded child. It was a feeling that her father was a master at making her endure without fail (At least before allowing herself to adapt to life alongside Ruby and co. as well as gaining more confidence in herself as a person as well as the decisions she had made up to that point) and this scalded dog had done nothing to earn that kind of reverent fear.

"Show some fucking dignity and look at me you piece of garbage!" The bite of his tone had definitely startled her into silence given everything that had happened prior to the blackmail he had decided to inflict upon her, but now that she had gotten bolder in her approach against the wolf Faunus there lay an opportunity to silence her obnoxious foe once and for all. "No more bumbling assassins, no more looking over my shoulder wondering if this'll be the day he finally decides to "cash in" and degrade me in some sycophantic way: Like being some bimbo wrestling valet!" The thought of being reduced to acting like an airhead and wearing some skimpy outfit whenever the amber-eyed idiot decided to make one of his annoying entrances during the sparring matches held inside the amphitheater was enough to make the young woman's stomach start doing somersaults out of horror and revulsion.


	3. Defeat

_**10/14/17..it all begins again**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Rooster Teeth owns RWBY**_

Bálor would sigh as he looked at himself in the still-shattered mirror that resided in his dorm room, the academy uniform still a very foreign sight to him by one he was slowly growing accustomed to with each passing day.

" _Things are bad. Maybe they've always been bad, but there's always a light at the end of the tunnel..there's always a chance to start over and be better than who you were before."_ The wolf Faunus would insert the violet-colored eye contacts that he had bought to help distance himself from the Bullet Club flunky that everyone at Beacon had come to know him as, in those days he thought himself untouchable: Ozpin had given him free rein in terms of his actions and had exercised it in the most immature of ways, annoying the student body with gaudy and extravagant entrances, lashing out violently at anyone who had even remotely offended him, but perhaps the worst mess he had caused was upsetting the friendship between the members of Team RWBY. " _But as the saying often goes: The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."_ He would see the eight metal cases which housed his weapons sitting out in the open, waiting for their master to call upon them once again to continue the same path of destruction that he had spent most of his life on, as well as the very thing that had caused some of the discord between him and most of Beacon's residents.

A knock upon his door would interrupt his thoughts before a resounding thud that signaled the fall of his still ruined door would send the barely held together shards of his mirror tumbling to the ground.

"It's open." Bálor would say this sarcastically as he began combing back his now black hair, looking out of the corner of his eye to see a less-than-pleased Goodwitch glowering at him with her arms crossed. "Hello Professor Goodwit-" He would stop speaking as she pointed her riding crop at him, going completely quiet as he knew he was in for another stern lecture from his third-least favorite individual.

"I don't even want to **begin** hearing what terrible logic went into you destroying Academy property, just know that not even Ozpin is going to be able to protect you from retribution this time." She would continue to rant about finally getting him to take some responsibility for his actions before snapping her fingers, two underclassmen would march into the room as the bespectacled Huntress simply looked at the wolf Faunus quietly as she took in the sudden change in the young man's appearance. "I'd heard rumors of your look changing recently, and while in the past I would've gladly accepted such changes as a welcome trend in the positive, I can't help but think there's some ulterior motive behind it all."

She would snap her fingers once again as the two underclassmen would leave the room as quickly as they had arrived, somehow leaving behind a trash can and a broom behind in their place.

"How did they-" The wolf would sigh as he received only a steely-eyed glare from the woman in response, in the past he would've probably made a zinger about how it was her "special time of the month" and how she should just put in another _Maxie Pad,_ but that would only worsen the situation he was currently in. "Alright, question rescinded..guessing you want me to clean up the mess?"

She would nod bluntly as she handed him the broom without saying much else, barely hiding her disdain as he took the broom and began sweeping away whatever bits of debris he could without saying much else.

"I honestly don't understand what Ozpin sees in keeping you here, considering that almost every action you've ever taken was to isolate yourself from people however possible." Glynda would rub her temples tiredly as he continued to clean without replying to her words, leaving the older woman to examine the tattered remains of his dorm room with an inquisitive eye even as bits of debris were telekinetically moved to reveal taped together remains of photos involving himself and either Ruby or Yang. "So, there were times where you behaved like a normal teenager, I daresay you actually look happy in these photos."

The amber-eyed Huntsman in training would give a small chuckle as he continued to clear away the debris into the nearby waste bin while Goodwitch watched on in silent vigil.

Ruby would be busy inside of the team dorm room as she held up a pair of scissors while staring down at a pair of thigh high stockings with a curious look on her face as she contemplated what she was about to do.

"Okay Ruby, just remember..you're doing this for science!" With a gleam of enthusiasm in her silver eyes she would rip open the packaging and pull out a pair of stockings and begin making cuts, snippings and various other rips with gusto. "For science!"

"WHERE IS HE!?" Weiss had spent the last hour and a half searching the halls of Beacon looking for her silver-haired tormentor, eventually running afoul of the Sterling Twins, Johanna and Oscura, who bluntly proceeded to inform her that the wolf Faunus was under Goodwitch's direct supervision and there was zero chance that he would be leaving it. "I know that twit well enough that he would never let Professor Goodwitch keep him trapped in a room with her." She was about to start knocking when the heiress noticed what her partner was up to. "Ruby..what are you doing?"

The crimsonette would smile as she marveled at her handiwork with a satisfied smile before turning to face her friend and teammate with a stern look, not even blinking as she set the scissors down and crossed her arms. "Just thought I'd try out a new look, definitely a lot of that going around lately." She would sigh as Weiss simply gave the younger girl a dumbfounded look before deciding to settle down on the edge of Blake's bunk and gesture for Ruby to continue, even though a small but very vocal part of her wanted to know just what she planned to pair with those stockings.

"I understand that things have been tense between us all ever since..that thing with the amphitheater, and my temporary relocation to Bálor's room for a little while, but I think we can finally start putting everything behind us and concentrate on the Vytal Festival." Ruby's eyes would start to glisten with hope at the prospect of Team RWBY standing tall at the end of the madness that was the current Vytal Festival, even though it would either be her sister Yang (who had become surprisingly laser focused on winning following her closing the book on her first and so far, ONLY relationship.) who had the chance to represent Team RWBY in the winner's circle.

Weiss's earlier frustrations would be forgotten as she digested the boundless enthusiasm of her partner and leader of Team RWBY with a twitchy right eye, forcing herself to take a calm and dignified breath before bothering to remove the note she had found wedged in their dorm's door earlier on in the day.

"Ruby, while I appreciate just how.."excited" you are about our team's chances in the tournament. We've been in the middle of it for a DAY, and our chance at the Doubles may very well be coming up tomorrow but I can't exactly get on board with the idea that one of the **biggest** assholes that has ever graced the halls of our Academy could possibly change his stripes." The heiress would hand the folded-up paper to her trusted partner, watching as the other girl's silver-colored eyes went from left to right as she read the letter. "I know you have all sorts of questions about what you've just read but, I still have a great deal more to tell you. Especially since it has to do with the truth behind that mess in the amphitheater."

For Blake, the Vytal Festival was just another step away from her old life as a member of the renegade Faunus group known as the White Fang. The last year had proven to be a mixture of catharsis and intrigue, the capture of Roman Torchwick had more than certainly set back the plans of her former compatriots for a time.

But then why was she still feeling an uneasy tension in the air?

"Penny for your thoughts partner?" Yang would stand beside the yellow-eyed feline as she looked over at the setting sun, both women enjoying the warmth that remained despite the long day that had occurred as Team RWBY had managed to make it past the opening round without losing a single member of the group. "Yeah, I know silence is golden and all, but I'm pretty sure that the sunset's got that covered. So, spill the tea already woman!"

Blake couldn't help but feel relieved at the blonde's continued exuberance, at first she couldn't help but wonder what outside forces were responsible for the two of them becoming partners: The raven-haired Faunus preferred to keep to herself whenever possible, even having amassed quite the collection of books to carry her through the more boisterous of their outings, while Yang herself seemingly embraced the roar of a crowd and was more than often the leading force whenever they had a rare night on town.

"I just feel like I've finally awakened from some horrible nightmare, and I don't mean our weird interactions with the mutt." She would chuckle to herself as the brawler's expression temporarily went sour at the mention of her now ex-boyfriend, the breakup having caused something of a rift between Yang and Ruby for a time before the Faunus herself would step in and mediate a reconciliation between the sisters. "We're finally starting to gel as a team again and pretty much steamrolled through our first fight, I want to believe that once we win the tournament..everything's going to change for the better."

The blonde would place a hand upon her partner's shoulder as a confident smile crossed her face, the setting sun bringing out an extra shine to her already golden locks. "Then believe it already, this last year has brought us a hell of a lot of grief and torment. And that's not even counting what that dumbass tried to stir up way back when, if anyone's due for a happy ending after this tournament business it's gotta be us!" Yang would pump a fist at her future triumph, looking forward to further adulation from the boys of Beacon as not only one of the more attractive females there but also from the fact that she and her team would be lauded as one of the strongest in the Four Kingdoms.

Blake however, couldn't help but feel the same tremor of dread from earlier, despite the warmth of the sun now blanketing her skin as well as the reassuring presence of her trusted partner and friend beside her.

There was indeed a change coming their way, but it wasn't the kind that seemed to include a happy ending.

Bálor would wipe the sweat from his brow as he finished sweeping away the remainder of the debris as he looked around his now bare dorm room, the emptiness suggesting the possibility of a new start for him.

A sentiment that was clearly echoed by the satisfied murmurs of one Glynda Goodwitch as she inspected his handiwork. "A job well done Mr. Moonlight, I'll make sure to be put in a call to Maintenance to have the basic furnishings replaced. Of course, anything else of a more personal variety will have to come out of your own pocket of course." The veteran Huntress would notice that the usually antagonistic Faunus had gone uncharacteristically silent during his cleanup, something that would cause the woman some trepidation at his behavior as she cleared her throat to get his attention. "Please understand that it was never my intention to be some horrid taskmistress, I truly believe in the potential of every student who attends Beacon Academy..even if a particular student seemed to believe himself nothing more than scum who deserved to walk alone." She would place a hand on his bicep, surprised to feel him tense up at her touch before pulling away with an exasperated sigh before turning to leave the boy to an empty room with nothing to keep him company but his troubles.

"I don't belong anywhere Professor: As a child, Vacuo was nothing but an endless sandbox full of Grimm and two very unfit parents. Prison molded me into an animal, I'm fit for killing but I doubt that this dog will be winning any Best in Show medals." The wolf would turn to face his teacher with a look of defeat in his currently violet eyes as he telekinetically opened the door behind her, his expression completely crestfallen as he continued to speak. "I've decided to leave Beacon Academy following the conclusion of the Vytal Festival, Ozpin wasn't exactly pleased to hear it..but I was hoping if you put in a good word then maybe he'd finally understand."

Glynda couldn't help but feel a modicum of elation as she heard those magical words, having long been a proponent for him to be returned to the pits of Black Vale. But as a teacher she was supposed to inspire confidence in her pupils.

"I'll see what I can do regarding your request, but in the meantime, I suggest that you indulge in some self-reflection." She would look back at him to see a still very sullen wolf Faunus, half-tempted to slap him silly with her riding crop. "You can't solve your problems by running away, sometimes the only solution is to keep moving forward."

With those final words Goodwitch would leave the young man to contemplate the advice he'd been given, whether or not he would heed it would be the true test of his character.

 _ **Happy RTX everyone!**_


End file.
